Mawson Lumber was founded 1927 by Richard Irl Mawson
Tom Moore relocated Mawson in 1983 after the fire
Mawson Lumber & Hardware got its name from R. Irl Mawson who was born in Belmont Kansas, June 29th, 1882. He grew up the son of farmers and inherited his father’s “untiring energy and thrift”.
R. Irl studied at Wathena, Kansas and St. Joseph, Missouri. He later became a bookkeeper for Daugherty & Moss Lumber Co. for seven years. After working at E. W. Ray & Son Lumber Co. he entered a partnership with E.W. Ray to open a lumber business in Wathena, Kansas in 1913.
He sold the business in 1914 due to the health of his wife, who had contracted consumption, and moved to Denver, Colorado later that year. He bought a lumberyard in Severance shortly after his move. Over the years, he organized the Farmer’s bank of Severance, became a stockholder in the Great Western Alfalfa Mill Company, as well as the Western Mortgage Company and in the Mutual Drug Company of Denver.
In 1927, he founded Mawson Lumber & Hardware which expanded to have retail lumber yards in Severance, Fort Collins, Greeley, Brighton, Loveland, Longmont, and Denver and in 1930 he build the Mawson/Wickers family home, which is now the home of Taco Bell at 1538 S. College Ave.
The business consolidated to one location at 307 E. Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins where it remained and was sold to Tom Moore in 1979.
The lumber yard burned to the ground in a devastating fire in 1983. The business relocated to a one-building shed after the fire and plans were made to rebuild the business. Down to three employees, including Mr. Moore driving a forklift, the business was able to re-establish itself, creating a close knit community between both the employees and the customers.
Fast forward to 2010 when Mr. Moore explored the possibility of adding retail space to the facility that has housed it since the fire. It had faded into the background “unknown, limited and reached down an alley with no presence.”
Before the Fire
After the Fire
The decision was made to relocate the retail and office space to a 100+ year old Union Pacific Freight Depot owned by Mr. Moore, plans were drawn up and construction began in the fall of 2011. On October 9, 2012 Mawson Lumber & Hardware began operation at its new facility located at 350 Linden Street in Fort Collins with an expanded building material, fastener and tool department. Offices accommodate the accounting, lumber and window sales departments.
The store was purchased by Scott Glasscock in July of 2015. It has turned into a “hidden gem” in the heart of downtown Fort Collins. “First-timers are a little star-struck; it isn’t what they were expecting. We’re unique- not like other lumberyards they’ve visited.” And, as it always had, the business continues to change and evolve.
But, no matter what changes come to the business, the focus is on building not just houses but relationships with our customers.
